Elves are Graceful…until you put them on wheels
by Ruby Silverstar
Summary: Sophie finally has the chance to get back into one of her old hobbies, roller skating. It doesn't go as well as she thought, since apparently elvin grace only goes to a certain point, and just because someone can fight in four-inch pumps doesn't mean wheels are in the bag.


**Hey, a oneshot for you guys! This takes place before 'The Dizznee Legacy'.**

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Sophie pulled open the door, panting and sweaty from her morning run. The smell of bacon and eggs slapped her in the face and she yanked her hair out of its messy ponytail.

Five plates of bacon, eggs and hashbrowns sat in a row on the counter, along with a seventh of just eggs and hashbrowns. Dex was leaning over another plate of food, shovelling it down while working on something, probably homework. She decided not to bother him.

She grabbed one of the plates, drowned the hashbrowns in ketchup and wolfed down her breakfast. After giving her plate and fork a rinse, she put them in the dishwasher and swung around the counter, starting up the stairs.

Gentle hands grasped hers as she mounted the last few steps.

"Hey Fitz."

"Hey Sophie." He pulled her into a hug and pecked her cheek.

"Eww, don't do that, I'm all sweaty!"

He smiled. "I don't care."

"So what did you want to do today? It's spring break, so nobody's got class."

"I don't know. So far, the human world is kind of boring. What do humans do for fun?"

Sophie grinned, mentally running through a list of human sports and games. "There are lots of things we can do. Give me a couple hours to get some work done and let everyone eat breakfast and wake up all the way. I'll set an alarm for ten and I'll find something fun for us to do today. Sound good?"

Fitz flashed her a killer smile that made her knees weak. "That sounds awesome."

She kissed his cheek and stepped around him, shoving the door to her room she shared with Biana closed with her foot. She stretched and flopped on her bed, saying into her pillow, "I need to get up and shower and work, but I really don't want to."

With a heavy sigh, she pushed herself up and took a quick shower. After her shower, she sat down at her desk and opened her work tabs. One for the actual document, one for Pinterest, and one for every little thing she needed to search. Her first book had been a success, and Keefe loved drawing covers for her. She wasn't enjoying living through all the horrid memories again, but it helped support them to supplement her birth fund with income from her book. So she was writing a sequel.

She scrolled through the first five chapters, making minor edits as she went. The soft murmur of conversation flowed from the hallway and downstairs as everyone else woke up and started their day.

She reached six chapters by the time her alarm went off. Chipping steadily away at her goal. Her alarm went off, telling her it was time to stop being a workaholic and find something fun for them to do. She gave the search results for 'roller skating rinks near me' a cursory glance before selecting one and inputting the address into her phone. With hope, everyone would be up and dressed and have eaten.

"Fooooosssssteeeeerrrrrrr!" Keefe's voice wailed up the stairs.

She sighed. Of course he was the first to break. But he'd be driving.

Sophie yelled back, "I'm coming Keefe! Be patient." She turned around in her swivel chair and telekinetically pulled a pair of jeans and a T-shirt out of her dresser. "Everyone needs to either wear socks or bring them!"

There was a scramble of footsteps as several of them hurried upstairs for socks. Sophie made sure she didn't forget hers.

She pulled on her clothes and walked downstairs. Dex was still hunched over a paper and thick textbook, but like everyone else, he was dressed to go.

"Dex, it is Saturday and our week off. Put the homework away."

"Fine."

Sophie slung her purse over her shoulder and handed Keefe the car keys. "You're driving. Let's get going."

Keefe groaned.

Sophie didn't really trust Keefe driving fully, but he needed the practice. So she walked him through backing out of the driveway and eventually they were on their way.

Biana started grumbling about five minutes in. She'd been stuffed in the center seat between Dex and Fitz, both of whom were not small-boned. Linh, Marella, and Tam were fine in the back.

"Are we there yet?" she whined.

"Biana, I know you're squished. Please be quiet. Keefe needs to concentrate so he doesn't crash."

"Where are we going anyway?"

"Roller skating! It was my absolute favorite thing to do, although ballet was a close second."

"When did you go roller skating? It's not an elvin thing."

Sophie raised an eyebrow. "I had a life before the Lost Cities, you know. I skated competitively from the age of four. After I hit my head, I continued, but less so. It was something I could do with quiet, and since everyone's minds were focused on the same thing, there was a lot less mental noise. Keefe, signal!"

"Right." He flipped on the blinker. "I forgot."

"Forgetting could get us in a crash and since none of you have paperwork, that'd be a real headache."

"Yeah, I know Foster. Do I have right-of-way here?"

"Yes! Go! They're waiting for you."

Keefe accidently jerked on the gas, but they went forward and he turned into an old parking lot. "This is the right place, right? It's a bit beat up."

"Yup. You can park over there. This roller skating rink was built in 1948, so it's pretty old. But it's a great place."

They extracted themselves from the car. Sophie checked the cash in her purse. "I have enough for everyone to skate. I want you guys to at least try."

All of them had a bit of trouble acting normal as they briefly blanked on their shoe size, and whether they wanted skates or blades. Sophie made it clear they were not getting blades this time. It took a few exchanges to get all of them into skates that fit.

"Alright, let's go!" Sophie stepped onto the smooth waxed floor and immediately felt at home. Her body settled into a familiar rhythm. She didn't bother hanging onto the wall at all, gliding around the floor easily and gaining speed. This particular rink wasn't one she'd been to before, but she'd been to many, many similar ones.

_I wonder if I've still got my old skill_. Sophie tilted her weight to the left and swirled to a stop. Well she could still do that. Starting again, she twisted quickly, jumping a few inches off the floor and landing facing the other direction, now skating backwards.

There was a loud thud and she turned to face the right way again. In his effort to skate faster away from the wall, Fitz had tripped and lay sprawled on his back.

"Ow. This floor is really hard."

She skated over to him and helped him up. "It's got a thick layer of sealant on it to keep the skates from damaging the wood. How about you stay on the wall for a while until you get your balance?"

"These things are the worst." Biana was barely keeping herself up. "How are you so good at this?"

Sophie grinned. "I've been roller skating since I was four, and I held the championship in my home rink for a ridiculously long time. It's not really a skill you forget. Find your centre of balance and hold it. That'll help."

Keefe hadn't even stepped onto the rink yet. "Sophie, I really don't trust these things."

"Don't worry Keefe. I fell a lot when I first started. It happens while your body is figuring out a new centre of gravity and all that. If you're embarrassed about it, Fitz fell first."

"I saw that." He stepped gingerly onto the rink, wobbling. "I'm gonna hug the wall for a while."

Dex tested his balance gingerly. "I think I got it." His foot slipped and he windmilled his arms wildly. "I don't got it, I don't got it!"

Sophie took his hand and set it on the wall. "Careful. Don't fall over."

"Sophie I need help!"

She sighed and left the rink. "What's wrong, Linh?"

"I can't get my foot in the skate."

Sophie knelt down awkwardly and unfastened the buckles. "Try now. It's meant to be a snug fit because it needs to support your ankles." She tightened the buckles to fit around Linh's slim foot. "Is that too tight?"

"A little." Linh stood, wobbling. "Wow. I feel tall."

"They'll loosen as you go. It's better they're a little tight. Tam, Marella, you good before I go back out?"

"I think this is the wrong size for me. It's really tight."

Sophie skated over and attempted to squat down. It didn't work and she fell on her bum, kicking Marella in the knee by accident. "Sorry."

"Don't worry about it."

"So how snug is it? You got your foot in and buckled it."

"I can't move my foot very well or my ankle at all."

Sophie pulled herself up and helped Marella stand. "You're not supposed to move your ankle. It's encased in plastic to support the joint and keep you from breaking it if you step wrong. If it were the wrong size, you'd know." She helped her to the wall and turned to Tam. "Are you good?"

"How am I supposed to stand? And who thought it was a good idea to strap wheels to people's feet for fun?"

Sophie skated over to him and pulled him up. "You stand carefully. And probably the same person who invented ice skating, which is basically strapping a knife to your shoes and gliding around on ice."

"But why?"

"Because it's fun and good exercise. You're using most of your body when you skate. Legs for movement, abs and chest for balance, and you swing your arms around a lot to stay up."

"Hey Sophie look! I'm doing it!" Keefe was supposedly skating away from the wall, but in the half a second it took her to look, he'd already fallen on his face. "Ow. Never mind!"

"Take it slow." she advised, hauling Tam to the wall and getting back on the rink._ And I thought elves were graceful._

_We are._

_Fitz, what are you doing in my head?_

_I'm looking for information on roller skating so I can figure out what to do. I mean, I don't even know how I'm supposed to move my feet._

_You could've just asked._

_I know. Sorry_. He gave her a cute pout.

Sophie smiled, shaking her head. _The memories you want are here._

_Thanks._

Keefe kept trying to skate away from the wall and fell without fail every time. Biana sort of got the hang of it, with one hand on the wall instead of two. With the information from Sophie, Fitz was able to move from the wall to her and grab her hand.

"This is hard. My hips hurt."

Sophie adjusted her balance to allow for Fitz holding onto her. "Mine do too. You're using them in a way you haven't before and your body has to adjust. But you're doing well."

There were three loud thuds in quick succession. Sophie made her way around the rink again to Biana, Linh and Tam, who had all run into each other and fallen in a heap.

"Wow, you guys. Like I said, hang onto the wall until you get your balance."

Marella was inching along. "I'm the only one who hasn't fallen yet."

"I haven't either." Dex called. He was on the other side of the rink. Slowly, he moved away from the wall, taking a few strides before grabbing it again. "I'm actually getting it."

"Mind telling me the secret, Dexy? Every time I let go of the wall, I fall."

Sophie looked over at Keefe. "Well, if you stop walking like a pigeon, that might help." She untangled the others and skated over to him. "Hold your feet under you. Don't shuffle forward, you'll fall. It's long smooth strides. I often end up leaning all my weight on one foot or the other. Like this."

Keefe tried to copy her motions, with marginally more success. "That was two seconds. I can live with that. But I hope I can make it all the way around once without holding the wall before we leave."

Fitz yelped and fell backwards again. His head made a loud crack on the floor and he groaned. "Ow."

"Are you okay?" Sophie wondered if she would ever actually get to skate.

"I hit my head. I think I might go sit down."

"Okay. You do that."

"Hey Sophie look!" Marella glided away from the wall. "I can glide, but I haven't figured out how to propel myself without holding on. But I have yet to fall!" As soon as the words were out of her mouth, one foot slid in front of the other and she slipped onto her bum. "Or not."

"I'm the last one standing!" Dex whooped, throwing his arms in the air, which was his mistake. He threw himself off balance, stayed up for a few more seconds, and fell on his hands and knees. "Dang it!"

"Now we just have to make Foster fall." Keefe was making short spurts free of the wall, but nothing close to his once-around-the-rink goal.

Sophie laughed. "I've held championships from kindergarten through highschool. I haven't fallen in over six years and that is not counting the time where I wasn't able to skate. I highly, highly doubt I'm going to fall."

_Everyone has their weakness._ Fitz murmured.

_If you make me fall on purpose, I will restrict your Internet time. And make you drive back._

"I don't want to startle myself, but I think I'm skating." Linh said, with due amount of caution. She made it about ten feet before she grabbed the wall again.

"You're doing great. Roller skating's hard. If all of you have got it by the time we leave, I'll be surprised. And that is not just based on your current performance."

"Good, because I just completed one lap around the rink without hanging onto the wall." Fitz passed her and promptly slipped. He stayed upright, only by careening into Biana and knocking them both into the wall. "Ow."

"Hey, we're both still upright."

Sophie laughed. "I'll give you guys a half an hour, then we have to go. Kay?"

There was a general assent.

Finally able to do the skating she wanted to do, Sophie glided away from them, sighing. This was something she had truly missed. This and Tumblr. Her small group of skater friends had been mostly quieter girls, interested in such things as _Doctor Who_ and _Merlin_, whose fandom just refused to die.

She'd actually been waiting for the results of a tournament she'd participated in when Fitz had found her. There had been some muckups with the technology and they weren't able to tell who'd won. And she still didn't know

"Sophie, I did it!" Keefe whooped in delight. "I went the whole way around without holding onto the wall or falling!"

"Great job Keefe."

The rink started to get more crowded as time passed. Biana and Tam were both done pretty quickly as the space filled up and there was less margin for error. Dex, once he found his balance, stayed up for a while. But sooner or later, all of them left the rink. Sophie noticed them and stepped off herself. "Everyone ready to go?"

"Yeah." Fitz worked the skate off his foot. "Tired."

"Was it fun? You guys want to do something like this again?"

There was a general affirmative.

Given everyone's state, Sophie decided to drive them home. No one complained about seating this time. Biana fell asleep wedged in between Dex and Keefe.

She smiled, turning onto the long stretch of road. So far, the human world hadn't presented any large problems. And hopefully it would continue to be fun.

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**Review! Tell me what you think! I love to hear it.**

**Shine brightly!**

**Ruby**


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